tummy sleeping

My little girl learnt how to roll back to front about 2 weeks ago. For the last week, when I put her down for a sleep she immediately rolls onto her tummy. I roll her back and she immediately rolls back. She will scream on her back and as soon as she is on her tummy the screaming will stop and she will start relaxing into sleep.

She sleeps in a gogo bag, but i have started putting a sheet across her tightly in an effort to restrict her movement so she can't roll. She hates this! Often I will let her go to sleep on her tummy and then come in 20 min later when she is in a deep sleep and flip her over. This works but is not ideal at 4am!

Really what I want to know is if anyone else had this problem and how you dealt with it? Also does anyone know specifically why back sleeping is recommended to avoid SIDs (ie is it suffocation, or pressing down on lungs etc)

As far as I know it's overheating more than anything. But I think they say once baby is strong enough to put herself into the position it's ok. Lots of my friends use a safety-sleep so baby can't roll over. That might be an option.

potato wrote: I figure if they are strong enough to get into that position, then they are strong enough to get out.

Kryssi was a persistent tummy sleeper. Anything else and she'd wake within 10 minutes of being put down! She used to lift her head a lot (in the very early weeks) when crying and fussing about it, so I figured she would be ok if I let her have her way on it. I checked her a lot though!

If your baby has any kind of reflux issues, the tummy sleeping will be more comfortable because back sleeping stretches out the eosophagus straighter than tummy sleeping does. Kryssi didn't have reflux but perhaps she had a mild discomfort when sleeping that way, I don't know.

I would try a Safe T Sleep, we got ours off trade Me for about $50. Its brillian, makes me feel very much at ease knowing he cant roll over.
Personally I wouldnt let Caden sleep on his tummy this young, because of SIDS etc.

Hi,

What I have found is that babies will find the position they are most comfortable in, and as long as you are happy to let them "get on with it" then do.

DS2 has been a tummy sleeper since birth , his choice, not ours and our feelings about it where that we'd rather he (and us) had 2-3 hours of good quality sleep than him screaming the house down for hours on end (he did this once when we tried to "force" him to sleep on his back and then immediately went to sleep when placed on his tummy) and/or spend 10 minutes asleep and be crabby when he woke.

At the end of the day, they are guidelines and as parents we have to decide what, if anything we will take from them. DS1 was a "by the book" baby and we were all miserable........we've taken a very laid back, whatever works approach with DS2 and he is a "dream" baby and we are all the happier for it.

So that's probably not helped, or answered your question....but wanted to put it out there anyway.

Once babies can roll from back to front etc they are ok to sleep on their tums as this shows they have the strength to move about. I used to get up to flip Alize as I kept thinking about the back to sleep campagine until I attended a SIDS course for work and found out that once they can get to their tums themselves they are fine to stay there.  I thnk now it is up to personal choice with what you decide.

Kels wrote: Once babies can roll from back to front etc they are ok to sleep on their tums as this shows they have the strength to move about. I used to get up to flip Alize as I kept thinking about the back to sleep campagine until I attended a SIDS course for work and found out that once they can get to their tums themselves they are fine to stay there.  I thnk now it is up to personal choice with what you decide.

Now why is it the ydon't tell parent's that cause I wish i had known that with Alan.

Discussed this with my karitane nurse this afternoon. She said exactly what you said Kels. In fact she was completely against safety sleeps as it does not allow a child to move around, which is natural when anyone sleeps (including babies).

Thanks everyone for your input!